If you have any ancestors
who served during the Civil War from Tennessee you really need to check
out Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications, Soldiers and Widows,
1891-1965 on FamilySearch. I found some records listed for men who enlisted in Alabama and Georgia but who applied in Tennessee for pensions also.
This collection has digital images of pension applications filed by Confederate veterans and their widows. Tennessee began granting pensions to resident Confederate veterans in 1891 and to their widows in 1905. When you access this group of records it will show you application numbers only. But don't be discouraged I have located an index to these records at the Tennessee State Library and Archives.
The index is listed by counties and then by surname. It will give you the Soldiers Name, County, Pension # and Unit or Widow. Once you find the name and have the Pension# all you need to do is go to that number set in the Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications and begin your search. Because it is by number group it may take a few tries to locate that file within the group but don't give up it's really worth it!
The file for William Miller was 24 pages in length and it took from 1905 to 1911 to finally receive his pension. Reading this file you can only imagine how frustrating it must have been for him. Listed as deserting but he was really captured and sent to prison at Camp Morgan in Indianapolis, Indiana.
William Miller was born 15 Aug 1836 in Madison County, Tennessee and married Octavia Ralph on 2 Oct 1870 in Lauderdale County, Tennessee. He died 13 Oct 1913 in Lauderdale County, Tennessee two years after finally receiving his pension.
